Bouissou M F, Vandenheede M
Laboratoire d'Etude du Comportement Animal, Station de Physiologie de la Reproduction, I.N.R.A. Centre de Tours-Nouzilly, F. 37380 Nouzilly, France.
Behav Processes. 1995 May;34(1):81-92. doi: 10.1016/0376-6357(94)00056-m.
Fear reactions of ewes towards a human, a human-like model or a control (plastic cylinder 1.95 m high) were studied using a test previously designed and validated, in which 16 behavioural parameters have been interpreted as indicators of fear (e.g. a relatively long time spent away from the stimulus) or absence of fear (e.g. a relatively long time spent eating near the stimulus). In a first experiment, 18 animals were individually confronted with each of the 3 stimuli for 4 min (in a counter-balanced order). The results indicated that both the human and the human-like model elicited greater fear reactions than did the control, and that the former two stimuli did not differ in their fear-eliciting properties. In a second experiment designed to determine if the animals become aware of a difference between the human and the model over time, 32 animals were confronted successively with each of the two stimuli for 8 min. Although there was some habituation towards both stimuli, there was no difference between them even at the end of the test period. These results suggest that a model could be appropriate in experiments involving human presence (at least for a short duration) and would allow for better standardization. It can also be hypothetized that exposing animals to a model would lead to familiarization which might in turn help reduce fear of human beings and thus improve ease of handling and welfare.
使用先前设计并验证的一项测试，研究了母羊对人类、类人模型或对照物（高1.95米的塑料圆柱体）的恐惧反应。在该测试中，16个行为参数已被解释为恐惧（例如，远离刺激物花费的时间相对较长）或无恐惧（例如，在刺激物附近进食花费的时间相对较长）的指标。在第一个实验中，18只动物分别与3种刺激物中的每一种接触4分钟（采用平衡顺序）。结果表明，人类和类人模型引发的恐惧反应均比对照物更强烈，且前两种刺激物在引发恐惧的特性方面没有差异。在第二个实验中，为了确定动物是否会随着时间的推移意识到人类和模型之间的差异，32只动物先后与两种刺激物中的每一种接触8分钟。尽管对两种刺激物都有一定程度的习惯化，但即使在测试期结束时，它们之间也没有差异。这些结果表明，在涉及人类在场的实验中（至少在短时间内），模型可能是合适的，并且能够实现更好的标准化。还可以假设，让动物接触模型会导致熟悉化，这反过来可能有助于减少对人类的恐惧，从而提高处理的便利性和动物福利。
